Caught between two worlds
by DahliaRose83
Summary: Ric could be happy dating Jenna, if it weren t for a certain dark haired vampire, who seemed intent on driving him insane. When a surprising visitor shows up will it help him solve his problems or cause some new ones? (Alaric/Damon, some Alaric/Jenna)
1. Chapter 1

Hey everyone. Welcome to my new multi-chapter Dalaric-fic. Hope you like it. I got the idea while watching reruns of season two. Please let me know what you think.

Disclaimer: I don`t own Vampire Diaries. If I did, Alaric wouldn`t have died.

Caught between two worlds

Sitting in the Mystic Grill one Friday afternoon, drinking by himself, Alaric Saltzman wondered when his life had become so chaotic. He supposed it had all started years ago, with him meeting Isobel.

Their relationship had been a rollercoaster ride from day one. It had started as a passionate affair and he had fallen head over heels for the beautiful brunette. They had moved in together after just a few month, breaking up again just as quickly. They had always fought just as passionately as they made love. Isobel had even filed a restraining order against him at one time.

But it had never taken them long to get back together and when he`d asked her to marry him she had said yes without thinking twice about it. They had been together for about a year back then. To say his family hadn`t been pleased was an understatement. They hadn`t liked Isobel at all, with her weird fascination for the supernatural and the occult and had tried to make him change his mind. His father had even threatened not to attend the wedding. In the end he had attended, but Alaric supposed that had been mostly thanks to his mother and the fact that he didn`t want people to gossip.

His mum had at least tried, he had to admit. She had been nice to Isobel, had sat down with her to have tea and listened to her talk about her research. But still it had been plain to see that she didn`t agree with her son`s choice of a partner, although she`d never said anything. And Isobel never really liked his mum either, which was strange. Usually everyone loved his mum. But Isobel had always been a little different. Luckily they didn`t see each other all that often. After Ric had moved out of his parent`s house to go to College he hadn`t been home for more than one or two days at a time.

Unfortunately he and Isobel had agreed to spend Christmas with his family in the year they had gotten married. That had to have been one of the worst weekends of his life. His father hadn`t even tried to hide the fact that he hated his new daughter in law. He had glared at her the whole time and had barely spoken a word to anybody. His mother had been overly cheery, bustling around the house, laughing at anything and singing Christmas songs all the time, like she was compensating for her husband`s grumpy attitude.

Alaric`s older brother, who worked as a lawyer (something that really came in handy when Ric had a few run-ins with the police in his younger years), had been engrossed in work, having just been promoted. His wife Margaret had been heavily pregnant with their second child and stressed out because the other one was teething and therefore crying most of the time. Ric had never been so happy to leave his parent`s home.

That had been the first and last Christmas he and Isobel had spent with his family. Not that the Christmas with her family the next year had been that much better. He knew he couldn`t blame everything on Isobel, but marrying her had certainly estranged him from his family. He hadn`t seen his father for years after the disastrous Christmas.

His mum had visited every now and then and at first she had made a point to call him at least once or twice a month. But her visits and calls had lessened as time moved on. He wasn`t sure, but he suspected she might have had a fight with Isobel while he wasn`t there. His brother had been a little pissed when Ric didn`t attend the christening of his second child and they hadn`t spoken for a while afterwards.

Things didn`t really change for the better after Isobel`s disappearance, as Ric liked to call it now. His family had come to the memorial, mostly because people expected it, he supposed. His mum had dutifully cried a few tears at the empty grave, while his dad had grumbled about the whole thing being "a waste of time", since there was no body found and therefore no proof that she was even really dead.

And if only Ric had known how right he had been. But back then, blinded by grief and out for vengeance, he had fought with his dad, which led to the two of them not speaking for more than a year. His brother hadn`t been there. He`d been too caught up in work after another promotion. So it had been only Ric`s sister in law and his two hellish nephews, who fought over anything and were unable to sit still for more than five seconds.

He hadn`t really seen his family much after that, too engrossed in his research about vampires, especially the one who had killed his wife. Once his family found out that he was into that whole supernatural stuff now as well, hard words were exchanged once more. His brother accepted it after a while, but teased him about his weird hobby any chance he got, his mother simply ignored it, probably thinking it was only a phase, while his father voiced his opinion rather loudly. Alaric hadn`t spoken to him for about two years now and hadn`t seen him since the memorial.

So yes, he could blame a lot of his dilemma on Isobel. His life might have taken a completely different turn if he hadn`t met her. And yet he didn`t wish he`d never met her. They had been happy together, for a while at least. That didn`t change, even now that he knew that she had lied to him, had practically faked her own death. That she had a daughter she never told him about.

Although Isobel was the reason he had become a vampire hunter, had moved to Mystic Falls and tried to kill Damon, he couldn`t blame her for the things that happened afterwards. He even had to thank her for his life, because if she hadn`t given him that ring, he would be dead. He couldn`t blame Isobel for his newly found friendship with Damon or for the fact that he had a completely new dilemma on his hands right now. That was entirely his own fault.

He could have let go of his hatred, chosen to forget all about vampires and to concentrate on teaching. Concentrate on Jenna. Sweet Jenna, who had caught his attention shortly after moving here, with her beauty and her quick wit. Jenna, who he didn`t dare to call his girlfriend, even though they had been dating for a while now.

She was beautiful, smart, funny and spontaneous. Pretty much anything he could hope for in a woman. He should thank his lucky stars that she was even interested in someone like him. That he could have another shot at a normal life. It could all be so easy. If it weren`t for a certain dark haired vampire, who had obviously decided to drive him mad.

Alaric had no idea why he had allowed it to happen. Or how it happened in the first place, really. Damon had strolled into his apartment a few days ago (and he couldn`t even remember when or why he had first invited the vampire in) and told him that he needed help taking down a bunch of young vampires who had decided to turn Mystic Falls into their new hunting ground.

And wasn`t it ironic that he had teamed up with the vampire he had come here to kill? Even more surprising was the fact that they worked really well together. Just last week sheriff Forbes had thanked the two of them for helping her take care of the vampire problem. Ric barely resisted the urge to laugh when he thought about the fact that one of the towns vampire hunters was a vampire himself. But he couldn`t deny that it felt good to be needed. Just like he couldn`t deny that he enjoyed the rush, the adrenalin of hunting down evil vampires.

So when Damon had asked for his help it hadn`t taken Ric long to agree. They had tracked down the vampires in an old cottage, hidden somewhere in the woods. The fight had been short and brutal, with three vampires getting killed quickly, while the last one managed to escape. Damon had shrugged it off, stating that he wouldn`t get far without a daylight ring and they`d kill him later.

So they had walked back to the car, the adrenalin from the fight still pumping through Alaric`s veins, when Damon had suddenly pushed him against a tree, his lips descending on the teacher`s in a kiss that left both of them breathless. It had been so sudden, so unexpected that Ric had found himself kissing back without giving much thought to it, his hands roaming under Damon`s shirt of their own volition.

They had tumbled onto the backseat, shedding clothes on the way. Ric had forgotten everything, the fact that they were somewhere in the middle of the woods, with a vampire still out there, probably seeking revenge as well as the fact that technically, he had a girlfriend and this was cheating.

He had no idea how he had ended up in the backseat, with Damon buried deep inside of him. The world around them had ceased to exist. All that had mattered at that moment was the beautiful creature moving inside of him, filling him so completely, making him see stars. Damon`s blue eyes were glazed over, his lips slightly parted. He was amazing. Ric couldn`t remember ever coming so hard in his life.

It had taken them a moment to come down and when they had, reality had hit like a ton of bricks. Ric hadn`t known what to do, how to behave. Damon on the other hand had been completely cool about it. He`d cleaned up and asked the teacher if he would join him for a drink before going home. Half a bottle of bourbon later Alaric had stumbled into his apartment, still wondering what the hell had happened. And even more important - what it meant.

That had been three days ago and he felt still just as confused. He had immersed himself in work and seen Damon only briefly. And while he had decided early on to just forget about it, keep dating Jenna and act like nothing had happened, he found that he simply couldn`t.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to Damonfan123, sailor silvimoon and The-Perks-of-Being-a-Lesbian for the lovely reviews. They really made my day!**

Staring at his glass like it held all the answers, Alaric noticed someone sitting down next to him. He didn`t need to look up to know who it was. After a few seconds of silence he finally glanced to his right and into a pair of shocking blue eyes. "You`re brooding again." Damon noticed. Ric shrugged. "Just thinking." That statement only served to catch Damon´s interest. "About what?" he asked, watching the teacher closely, who had a hard time not to squirm under the intense gaze.

"Isobel." he answered vaguely. It wasn`t a lie. He had been thinking about his ex-wife. Among other things. He didn`t like the smile that statement brought to the vampire`s lips. "Today`s your lucky day then. I just got a tip where she might be." Damon held up a piece of paper and waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Up for a little road trip?"

The offer was way too tempting. And probably just as dangerous. "I`m meeting Jenna for dinner later." Damon frowned. "So? Just tell her something came up and you`re busy." he suggested. "I can`t just cancel our date." Ric protested. "Why not? She`ll get over it. You have more important things to do."

"Sorry, Damon. But I won`t cancel." the teacher stated, wishing Damon would just leave him alone. Of course his wish wasn`t granted. "She probably won`t stay there for long. If we want to have a chance at catching her, we have to do it now." Ric hesitated, wondering not for the first time if it was really a good idea to search for Isobel. Did he really want to see her again, after all that she had done?

Damon seemed to notice his hesitation. "Okay, then I`ll go alone. I`ll tell her you said hi when I find her." He made a show of getting up and Ric caught his wrist to stop him. "Wait." The vampire`s grin told him that he had reacted exactly like Damon predicted. The vampire had been baiting him. He`d known that and yet he couldn`t help but give in. "What the hell should I tell Jenna?" he asked after Damon had sat back down.

"Why are you asking me? Just tell her you`re busy. You`re working or whatever." Ric contemplated that for a moment. Work might be a good idea. With a sigh he pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialled Jenna`s number. He couldn`t believe he was doing this. How did Damon always manage to lure him into doing things he didn`t really want to do? And without much difficulty?

When Jenna answered after the third ring he cleared his throat, suddenly nervous. "Ahh.. hey Jenna, I`m sorry but I have to cancel our date. Something came up ... teacher`s conference. I`m not sure how long that will take. I`m really sorry." he stammered. Jenna sounded a little upset, but told him she understood and he should call her tomorrow. Ric promised to call and hung up, feeling like a complete asshole.

"See, that wasn`t so hard. Now let`s go. You drive." Damon decided and was almost out of the door before the teacher had a chance to protest. Inwardly cursing himself he followed the vampire. They got into the car and Damon gave him directions. When Alaric wanted to know where exactly they were going the vampire only told him he would see when they got there. Ric groaned in frustration.  
"Why does it always have to be you calling the shots? Do you ever do what someone else tells you to do?"

"Oh I can be quite obedient when I want to." Damon practically purred in a voice that spoke directly to Ric`s groin and made his heart beat a little faster. He gripped the steering wheel tighter and didn`t dare to look over at the vampire, knowing full well that a smirk would be plastered across his face. "I`d like to see that." he muttered under his breath, regretting the words as soon as they had left his mouth.

"You know what they say, Ric. Be careful what you wish for." Alaric had no idea what possessed him to risk a glance at the vampire, a smile playing about his own lips. Their eyes met for a second and the teacher felt a shiver race through him. Damon had seen, he was sure. Had probably been hoping for a reaction like that. "I`m always careful around you." he finally answered, returning his eyes to the road and wondering what the hell he was doing. He wasn`t actually flirting with the vampire, was he?

"Makes you a smart man." Damon murmured and Ric couldn`t help but risk another glance. "Was that actually a compliment?" The vampire held his gaze, making it nearly impossible to look away. "Maybe." Ric felt his cheeks heat and returned his attention to the road again. Whatever they were doing here, it was a bad idea. And an especially bad idea to do it while driving a car. He heard Damon chuckling silently, obviously pleased at his reaction, but didn`t dare to comment on it.

The rest of the drive passed in silence and Alaric wasn`t sure if he should be glad or disappointed by that. It took them about two hours to reach their destination, a nice little motel close to the highway. They found a bored looking guy at the reception desk and asked him if he´d seen Isobel. Alaric described her to him, in case she had used a fake name, but the guy just shrugged.

Rolling his eyes Damon leaned closer and compelled him. "I`m sure you remember her. Now, tell us what you know." Finally the guy nodded. "She checked in yesterday. Room 12." Ric started to get nervous, for the first time realizing they might actually find her and he had no idea what he was going to say. "So she`s still here?" he asked. The guy stared at him, a vacant look in his eyes. "I haven´t seen her since the morning. But she didn`t check out. She paid for two more days in advance." he told them.

Ric and Damon shared a quick glance and the teacher nodded. Damon turned back to the guy. "Give me the key. And forget you`ve ever seen us." Like a robot the guy handed over the key, before going back to reading his newspaper like they weren`t even there. Room number 12 was the last one at the back of the building.

Ric`s heart was pounding while he followed Damon. The vampire opened the door and they snuck into the room, only to find it empty. The bed was untouched and there was no suitcase or other personal belongings. The teacher went into the bathroom, not surprised to find it empty as well. He should`ve guessed that it wouldn`t be this easy. And strangely enough he didn`t feel all that disappointed. Maybe they really should just give up the search.

"We`re too late. She`s gone." he announced as he walked back into the main room. Damon shrugged. "Looks like it." Ric suspected that maybe Isobel had only checked into the motel to lead them in the wrong direction. There were certainly no clues to her whereabouts found here. Looking at his watch he wondered if he should call Jenna and ask her to meet him later.

"Let`s go. Maybe I`ll make it to my date after all." he murmured, taking a step towards the door. It was then that he noticed Damon leaning against the wall next to the door casually, his eyes raking over Alaric. "Why the haste? You cancelled your date, remember?" the vampire reminded him. Ric didn`t like the glint in his eyes. "I was going to call Jenna and ask her to meet me a little later than planned." he explained.

"You could do that." Damon agreed, pushing off the wall and slowly stalking closer. Involuntarily Ric took a step back. The vampire noted this with a smirk and kept on talking, his voice dropping to that seductive tone again. "Or we could stay a while. You heard the guy. Isobel paid for two days in advance. No-one will need this room. Would be a shame to waste it." Ric swallowed hard and took another step back, almost toppling onto the bed in the process. Damon´s quick reflexes prevented him from a - without a doubt very ungraceful - fall, as the vampire`s hand shot out to grab his arm. Unfortunately this also brought them very close to each other.

"Damon..." the teacher whispered, his voice betraying him. "Alaric." Damon echoed and Ric swore his name had never sounded so erotic. The vampire leaned even closer, moulding their bodies together and joining their lips. Ric stopped struggling and admitted - at least to himself - that he wanted this. He returned the kiss enthusiastically and allowed Damon to rid him of his shirt. When he tried to return the favour however, Damon slapped his hands away and pushed him onto the bed. He took a step back and watched Ric through half-lidded eyes as he started stripping off his own clothes. Ric couldn`t help but stare.

Watching Damon strip, revealing that perfect, pale skin teasingly slow, his hips swaying from side to side in some unknown rhythm, shouldn`t make his mouth go dry and his heart rate speed up. But damn it did! The vampire was pure seduction and Ric didn`t doubt for a second that he knew exactly what he was doing and what kind of effect he was having on him.

Finally naked Damon crawled onto the bed and rid the teacher of the rest of his clothes rather unceremoniously, before he straddled his hips. Ric gasped when Damon started moving against him. He pulled the vampire down for another kiss and was surprised when Damon slid something into his hand. Turning his head to look he allowed Damon´s lips to move to his neck instead, surprised himself that he wasn`t the least bit afraid the vampire might bite him. Once he caught a look at the small tube however his brows furrowed in indignation. "You planned this?"

Damon looked at him and shrugged. "I rarely plan anything. I thought you knew that." Ric held up the small tube. "You brought lube." he pointed out, but the vampire just shrugged again. "I believe in the old always be prepared." he quipped. Ric didn`t believe him for a second. He was sure the vampire had planned all along to seduce him. He didn`t know however what he should think about that. Partly he felt offended, but also partly flattered, while a certain part of him didn`t really care.

That part readily agreed with Damon, who had obviously decided to abandon the debate and continue where they had left off. And it agreed even more when he took the tube from Ric and squeezed some of its content onto the teacher`s fingers, when he readily opened up to those fingers, soft moans spilling from his lips. Those moans were quickly getting louder when Ric`s fingers were replaced by his cock. Ric had about ten seconds to ponder the fact that Damon just had to be on top, even when he was bottoming, before the vampire started moving, making coherent thought impossible.


	3. Chapter 3

_ Damonfan123: Thank you so much for the compliment. It`s great to hear that you like my stories so much. Hope you like the new chapter as well._

_ sailor silvimoon: Thank you. Really glad you liked the last chapter. And yes, Damon might have planned it._

_Sorry this chapter is so short. The next one will be longer, I promise._

Alaric left the bathroom, dressed only in a pair of boxers, just in time to hear his mobile phone ring. He moved around the bed, trying in vain to ignore the figure on top of the sheets and reached for the phone. Upon seeing the caller ID he felt a pang of guilt. Swallowing hard he sat down at the edge of the bed and answered the phone. "Hey, Jenna."

He could practically feel Damon`s eyes on himself and had a hard time concentrating on Jenna. "Hey, Ric. I wanted to ask if you`re done with work. I thought we could just have drinks instead of dinner. Or I could come over to your place." she suggested.

Alaric glanced over at Damon, who was still lounging naked on the bed amidst the rumpled sheets, looking like the personification of sin. The vampire smirked and his blue eyes shone with promise. It was a look that made Ric`s heart speed up again. He wondered how anyone could ever deny Damon anything. He certainly couldn`t and so his mouth went ahead of him.

"I`m sorry Jenna, but I guess I`ll be stuck here for a little longer. And once I`m done I just want to go to bed. I`m really beat and I think I wouldn`t be good company tonight." he mumbled apologetically, surprised himself at how easy the lie slipped past his lips. Damon grinned and crawled closer. Jenna said something, but Ric barely registered the words, too distracted by the feeling of Damon´s lips trailing over his shoulder, up to his neck, while one of his hands slipped around the teacher`s waist to trace circles around his bellybutton. "Yeah, I`m... really sorry." he said again, his breath hitching slightly when Damon`s hand moved lower.

"Ahh, listen Jenna, I've got to go. Chuck just told me they`re waiting." he lied in what he hoped was a sincere tone. He barely resisted the urge to curse when Jenna asked: "Chuck?" just as Damon´s hand slid past the rim of his boxers. The teacher grabbed the offending hand to stop its descent, while he mumbled. "Yeah, Chuck Wilson. You know him. Jeremy`s math teacher." Jenna answered something he didn`t quite understand, the blood pounding in his ears drowning out almost every other sound. "I really got to go. I`ll call you tomorrow, okay?" he promised a little desperate and hung up before she had a chance to reply.

"Damn it, Damon!" he cursed, half turning towards the vampire, who just grinned and took the phone from him. He threw it onto a nearby chair, before he moved behind Alaric again, his lips returning to the teacher`s neck, nipping lightly. Ric almost expected him to bite any minute and felt a little disconcerted when that thought didn`t make him pull away. "Chuck, huh?" Damon mumbled. His breath ghosted over Ric`s neck and made him shudder. "Hey, I had to make something up, which wasn`t exactly easy with you trying to distract me." Ric protested, eliciting a chuckle from the vampire.

"I`m quite impressed. I never figured you for such a good liar." Damon confessed, his hands moving lower and tugging on Ric`s boxers. The teacher took the offending garment off and turned to face him. "I guess you`re rubbing off on me." Damon grinned and moved to straddle his lap again, but this time Ric was having none of it. He rolled them over, effectively pinning the surprised Damon down with his own body.

The vampire struggled only half-heartedly and then gave up completely, allowing Ric to have his way. Alaric knew that he wouldn`t stand a chance against Damon`s strength if he really set his mind to it and that the vampire was allowing the man to dominate him. Somehow this submissive side of Damon was even hotter than his earlier aggressiveness.

He leaned down and claimed the vampire`s lips in a rough kiss, before moving lower, placing kisses over his jaw, nipping at his throat, surprised at the choked little sound Damon made, arching into him. Obviously he had just found a sensitive spot. Filing this information away for later use and ignoring the pang of guilt he felt at that thought, Ric let his lips move lower, fully intent on making Damon beg for it this time.

***

Meanwhile Jenna Summers was sitting at the Mystic Grill, watching a couple a few feet away, when Elena suddenly joined her. "Hey Jenna." Jenna mumbled a short greeting, without really acknowledging her presence. Elena frowned and turned to look at the couple her aunt was watching. "Is that Jeremy`s math teacher?" she asked. Finally Jenna turned her attention towards her niece. "Yes, Chuck Wilson." she murmured. Elena looked at her closely, wondering why she sounded so desolate. "What are you doing here? I thought you were meeting Ric for dinner. Did something happen?"

Her mind was spinning with possibilities, horrific scenarios about vampire attacks, werewolves or a sudden return of Isobel, when Jenna snorted and mumbled: "He ditched me." The brunette blinked, now even more concerned. "What do you mean, he ditched you?" Her aunt hesitated for a moment. She really didn`t want to bother the girl with her problems, but in the end she shrugged. "He cancelled our date. Told me some stupid lie." Again she glanced at Chuck Wilson and his wife. Teacher`s conference my ass.

"I`m sure he had a good reason to cancel your date. Maybe it was a misunderstanding." Elena offered and Jenna turned to glare at her. "Are you defending him? You`re supposed to be on my side."

"I am on your side." the brunette assured. "I`m just saying... how did you know he lied?" Jenna huffed. "I just know, okay?" Elena didn`t look convinced, but nodded anyway. "Okay. But maybe he had a good reason. You should at least talk to him. You`re such a sweet couple and I thought you liked him." Jenna looked at her niece. Sweet Elena, always concerned about everyone else and trying to help her sort out her chaotic love life, when it should be the other way around.

"You shouldn`t bother yourself with my problems, Elena. I´ll be fine." Elena grabbed her hand. "I know you`re supposed to take care of Jeremy and me and to help us with our problems, but that doesn`t mean we can`t help you with your problems as well. We`re family after all." she reasoned. Suddenly she smiled. "Hey, how about a girls night? We could watch some movies, eat junk food.."

"Paint each other's toenails?" Jenna chimed in, smiling despite herself. "Exactly." Somehow Elena`s enthusiasm was contagious. "You know what? That`s a great idea. Let`s go." Jenna threw some money on the table and followed her niece outside, casting one last look at Chuck Wilson as she passed him. Why did she always have to pick the wrong guys?


	4. Chapter 4

_ sailor silvimoon: Thank you for the lovely review. Glad to hear you love my story._

"Okay guys, that`s it for today. Be prepared for a quiz sometime this week." Alaric warned, smiling at his students. He turned away and started cleaning the blackboard just as the bell signalled the end of today`s lessons. He could hear his students chattering as they filed out of the room and breathed a sigh of relief, which quickly turned to resignation when he looked over his shoulder and noticed that Elena had lingered. The girl had been giving him strange looks the whole time, proving his fears that Jenna had talked to her.

It was the Monday after their cancelled date. After his latest encounter with Damon. Upon returning to Mystic Falls late Friday night he had been struck by guilt. He hadn`t only lied to Jenna, he had also cheated on her again. Twice. After dropping the vampire off at the boarding house he had returned to his own apartment and vowed to himself that it wouldn`t happen again.

When he`d called Jenna the next day she had sounded pissed and told him she was busy. On Sunday she hadn`t answered or returned his calls and he knew he was in trouble. Sunday afternoon had found him at the Grill, having drinks with Damon who seemed to find his predicament very amusing and couldn`t really understand why Ric bothered.

And now he had to face Elena, who was looking at him with wide doe eyes. "I suppose you don`t have a question concerning today`s lesson?" he asked, sitting down on his desk. "Where were you on Friday? Jenna told me you cancelled your date." At least Elena cut straight to the point, instead of talking around the subject. He had to give her credit for that. "Damon and I had a tip where Isobel might be. We had to check it out quickly if we wanted to have any chance at catching her." he replied, reasoning with himself that technically it wasn`t a lie. He just wasn`t telling her everything.

"Did you find her?" Elena asked eagerly. "No, we were too late. I would have called you if we had found her." He knew that she wanted to meet her biological mother. He just wasn`t sure if it would be good idea. Elena tried not to let her disappointment show. "You should talk to Jenna. She was really upset." the brunette told him. Ric grimaced. "She`s not answering my calls." Not that he could really blame her. Elena smiled sadly. "Just give her time. Maybe she only wants to test how serious this is to you. Put a little more effort into it." she advised. "Okay. Thanks for the tip." Elena nodded and joined Stefan, who had been hovering in the doorway the whole time, without Ric noticing. He watched the two of them leave and then quickly went to finish his work.

On the way home he stopped by the florist. It had been a while since he had done this whole relationship thing, but flowers were never a bad idea, right? He looked at the red roses first, but dismissed those as too cliché. Maybe white ones? Or rather tulips? He realized that he had no idea what kind of flowers Jenna liked. The sales girl noticed his indecision and offered her help. In the end she chose a bouquet of white and purple roses for him.

He had just given her Jenna`s address and scribbled a hasty note onto a card, when someone spoke directly behind him. "Are those for me?" Alaric jumped and turned to face the grinning vampire. "They`re for Jenna. But I`m sure you knew that already." Damon adopted a fake hurt look. "Why does she get flowers and I don`t?" Ric cast a quick glance at the sales girl to make sure she wasn`t listening, before he answered. "It´s an apology, because I ditched her for you. Besides, I`m not dating you."

A strange look crossed the vampire`s face, but it was gone in a second. "If you ask me, I don`t understand why you`re putting that much effort into something that`ll never work out anyway." Damon told him in a bored tone and Ric felt the sudden urge to punch him. "I`m not asking you." He turned to the sales girl to pay for the flowers and when he turned back around again Damon was gone. Shaking his head Alaric went home.

A few hours later the teacher was sitting in his apartment. It had gotten dark, the only light coming from a small lamp next to the couch. He had just finished writing his lesson plans for the next day, when the door opened and Damon strolled in. "Stefan and Elena are at the boarding house. And they`re all lovey-dovey." he complained, dropping down on the couch next to the teacher and holding up a bottle of bourbon. "Drink?"

Ric shook his head. "I have to work tomorrow." he reminded the vampire, who only shrugged in response. "So?" Alaric wondered if he was imagining things or if Damon was actually pouting. Giving in (and damn it, why did he always give in to Damon?) he murmured: "Okay. But only one." Damon´s face lit up and he bounded to the kitchen to get them glasses.

For a few minutes they drank in companiable silence. "Any news on Isobel?" Ric asked after a while. Damon shook his head. "Maybe it`s better this way. Maybe we should just give up the search." the teacher mused. Damon arched an eyebrow at him. "I thought you wanted to find her so badly." he wondered. "Yes, but... maybe it´s a stupid idea, searching for the woman who ruined my life. And who obviously doesn`t want me to find her." Ric muttered, downing his drink and allowing Damon to pour him another one. If he kept going like this he was well on his way to becoming an alcoholic. If he wasn`t one already.

"Harsh." Damon commented, startling him out of his musings. The teacher shrugged. "I just think ... my life would have turned out differently when I hadn`t met her." he tried to explain. Somehow that thought was stuck in his head lately and he couldn`t help but wonder what might have happened if he hadn`t married Isobel. "Marrying her estranged me from my family. They hated her, you know?" He kept staring at his glass, not sure why he was telling Damon these things.

"My father wasn`t exactly fond of Katherine, either." The vampire let him know. Alaric looked at him in surprise. He had never heard Damon speak about his father before. "What was he like?" he asked, not sure if it was a good idea to question the vampire. If he would even answer. But he seemed to be in a talkative mood today. "He was a self-righteous bastard."

"You didn´t get along?" Damon shook his head. "He hated me. I could never do anything right. We fought all the time. That`s when he wasn`t simply ignoring me, of course." he was staring off into space. "Stefan on the other hand was his golden boy. You can`t imagine how often I heard the words `Why can`t you be more like your brother?`." Damon snorted. Ric was surprised at the pain he could see in the vampire`s eyes and wondered if he was aware that he`d dropped his usual mask of indifference.

"I know what you mean." he murmured finally, drawing Damon`s attention to himself. Startled out of his thoughts, the vampire schooled his features again. "My dad and I have a tough relationship as well." the teacher admitted. He didn`t like talking about his family. But Damon had been so open with him. He figured he owed him a little honesty as well.

"He always favoured my older brother. Which probably isn`t all that surprising. Nathan was always so ambitious. So much like him. Best of his year in high school, had his pick of colleges, became a lawyer, like our dad wanted him to. He has a nice wife and kids..." he trailed off, stared at his glass again. "Dad was always disappointed in me. Thought I was wasting my life by becoming a teacher. Back in high school ... and also in college I got into a few fights. I didn`t really mean to. It just happened, you know? The fact that my brother`s a lawyer really came in handy a few times, when he had to bail me out of jail... Of course my dad didn`t appreciate it when he found out. One more thing he could complain about. And marrying Isobel only topped it off."

Silence followed his admission. When he finally looked up again he could see a new found understanding in Damon´s eyes. They had more in common than one might think, he realized. Finally the vampire smirked. "You`re brother sounds horribly boring." Ric couldn`t help but chuckle. Still smiling he raised his glass in a toast. "To boring brothers." Damon mimicked the action. "And fathers who don`t give a shit. So why should we?" They drained their drinks and Damon left shortly afterwards, but Ric couldn`t help but think that something had changed between them.

_The next chapter will be longer. I promise._


	5. Chapter 5

_ Damonfan123: Thank you so much for the compliment. I`m really glad you liked the last chapter._

_As I promised this chapter is a Little longer._

Tuesday and Wednesday came and went. Alaric taught his classes, talked to parents and met Damon at the Grill for drinks. Still Jenna didn`t answer his calls. Elena told him she was staying on campus. "She said she needed time to think." the brunette said apologetically. Slowly Ric started to wonder if Damon had been right and if it really was worth it. If this was really what he wanted. While Jenna continued to ignore him he was unconsciously gravitating towards the vampire. He just couldn`t help it.

After their talk at his apartment Damon seemed more open around him. He even suggested Ric should join the founders council, since he could use some back-up there. When Ric pointed out that he wasn`t from a founding family, Damon just shrugged it off. "You`re helping me protect this town already. The sheriff likes you. Maybe we can pull a few strings." The offer was tempting and Ric promised to think about it.

Of course becoming a member of the council would involve him even more in the supernatural world. And he wasn`t sure if he wanted that. He had no idea what he wanted anymore. Who he wanted. He spent the better part of Thursday afternoon sitting on the couch, lost in thought. He hadn`t tried calling Jenna today, knowing she most likely wouldn`t pick up anyway. And he contemplated giving up on her completely, but still wasn`t sure if it would be the right thing to do.

He liked her a lot, that much he knew. Jenna was smart and funny, sweet and easy-going. He loved talking to her, laughing with her. There were no awkward silences when they went out. She usually kept up the chatter and they talked about anything that came to mind. She was completely untouched from all the supernatural drama around her and while he didn`t like keeping her in the dark, he desperately wanted to protect her from it all. Wanted her to stay oblivious of the dangers lurking out there.

Jenna was his chance at a normal life. A life that didn`t involve feuding vampires and werewolves, having to hide a crossbow in his trunk or getting killed and being resurrected by some ancient magical ring. He could imagine the two of them moving away from Mystic Falls in a few years, settling down somewhere, living a normal life. Maybe even having kids. The only question was: did he really want that? A few years ago he would have said yes, but now he wasn`t so sure. After all he had done and seen, could he really go back to being oblivious?

Because there was always the other option. The dangerous option. Damon. The vampire practically spelled danger. It was simply in his nature. Vampires were predators, killers even. Damon was fickle, his mood changing from calm to angry in the space of seconds sometimes. He was unpredictable, sarcastic, arrogant and irritating as hell. But he could also be protective, understanding and compassionate. And he shared Ric`s wry sense of humour.

Even before he had started finding out how much they had in common, they had spent hours talking. Or just sitting in companiable silence, that somehow never got uncomfortable. And while it should feel weird to spend time with the guy who had turned his wife, the guy who had killed him, it simply didn`t. The thing with Isobel wasn`t Damon`s fault. Ric had accepted this a long time ago. If it hadn`t been Damon she would have found some other vampire. And he had tried to kill Damon first. The vampire had only defended himself.

Choosing Damon meant choosing an adventurous life. It meant hunting vampires and maybe some werewolves, getting in dangerous, life-threatening situations on a regular basis. It would also mean being unable to settle down, because obviously the vampire couldn`t stay in one place for too long. People would start asking questions when they noticed he didn`t age. And it would mean another choice for Ric sometime in the future. Because when you were dating a vampire you could either force him to watch you die or let him turn you.

At that point Ric shook his head, chastising himself for thinking that far ahead. He didn`t even know if Damon was interested in a relationship. Maybe what they had was just fun for the vampire. Just sex. And he had no idea how to find out what the vampire wanted.

He was startled out of his musings by a knock on the door. Frowning he got up and went to answer it, wondering who might be visiting this late. He knew it wasn`t Damon. The vampire never knocked. He just barged right in. He also didn`t think it would be Jenna. But he would have never guessed who really was in front of his door and therefore simply stared at his visitor for a few seconds.

The guy was a little shorter than Ric and also a bit older, dressed in a nice suit, his blonde hair a few shades lighter than Alaric`s and perfectly trimmed. "Aren`t you going to invite me in?" he asked when Ric still didn`t say anything. "Umm, yeah come in." the teacher mumbled, stepping aside. Once the door was closed the older one looked around. "Nice apartment. Looks a lot better than your last one." Ric rolled his eyes. "You haven`t seen my last apartment."

"I haven`t?" Alaric shook his head and asked the most important question. "What are you doing here, Nate?" His older brother shrugged. "Visiting my baby brother. I thought that would be obvious." Ric sighed. While he was happy to see his brother he just couldn`t believe this was a social call. They hadn`t seen each other for years. Hadn`t really kept in touch, aside from the usual birthday phone calls and Christmas cards. He cringed, remembering Nate`s last Christmas card. It had been one of those awfully sappy family photos, Nate, Maggie and the boys wearing Santa hats and grinning cheerily in front of the fireplace. He´d thrown it away instantly.

"You haven´t visited for years. And now you show up out of the blue, in the middle of the night?" he asked. This wasn`t like his brother at all. Nate was the opposite of spontaneous. He always made plans. Nathan looked away and bit his lip. A clear sign that he was uncomfortable with the current topic. "Maggie and I are having some problems." he finally admitted.

Ric was taken aback. The two of them had always been the perfect couple. They had fallen in love during their high school days, married, had kids. He`d never seen them fight. But looking back now, Ric suspected that maybe it had been a little too perfect. "What happened?" Nate shrugged. "She wanted to go back to working. It`s quite unnecessary, really. I earn more than enough money. That´s what I told her. Besides the boys aren`t that old, yet. I wanted her to stay home, but she got angry. Told me she had given up her job for me and the boys and she felt useless just sitting at home. We..." he paused, tried to find the right words.

"We fought. Hard words were exchanged. It got out of hand. She decided we need a break. So I thought I`d visit you. I didn`t want mum and dad to know. Don`t want to worry them." More like didn`t want to disappoint dad, Ric thought. But he didn`t say that aloud. He understood where his brother was coming from and he was glad Nate had decided to visit him. Before Isobel he and his brother had been very close and he had missed that closeness over the last couple of years. Yet another thing he and Damon had in common.

"You can stay as long as you want. But you`ll have to sleep on the couch. I don`t have a spare bedroom, sorry." Nathan smiled. "That`s okay. I guess I`m lucky you`re even letting me stay. Sorry for just dropping in. I should have called first. I just didn`t really think things through." he mumbled, looking a little sheepish. "Hey, that`s okay. I`m glad you`re here. It´s been too long." Ric murmured. "Yes, it has." Nate agreed. "Why don`t you freshen up while I make coffee? And then we can talk. We have a lot of catching up to do." Alaric offered.

A few minutes later they were sitting on the couch, drinking coffee, while Nate filled him in on what had happened lately. He told him more about the problems with Maggie, about his two sons Henry and Paul, who thought he was on some lawyer convention for further education and about their parents who thought the same. "I told mum the convention was in Virginia and I would visit you if I had the time. She says hi and you should call more often." Nathan ended.

"How is she doing?" Ric asked and Nate shrugged. "Fine. Same as always. I think she misses you and she`s sorry how it all turned out. You know, after Isobel... she thought we could fix things. We both thought that. But you were strange after her death. Immersing yourself in her weird research." The accusation made Ric flinch, even though he knew Nate didn`t mean it like that.

"She just wants you to be happy. Find a girl, settle down again. She mentioned that a small town like this must be a good place to raise kids." Ric snorted. Mystic Falls was probably the last place he`d want to raise kids, but his brother didn`t need to know that. "So, that was my life in 100 words." Nathan joked. "What about yours? Met anyone lately?"

Alaric hesitated. His life was chaotic and he didn`t want to burden his brother with that. But maybe it was a good idea to talk about it, to get another opinion. "Actually I have. But it`s ... complicated." he murmured. "Tell me." Nathan ordered, looking at his brother closely. "Her name is Jenna. She`s the aunt and also legal guardian to two of my students."

"Tell me more about her." the older one asked. "Well she`s ... sweet and funny. She moved back to Mystic Falls to take care of her niece and nephew, because her sister and brother-in-law died in a car crash. I think she`s doing a great job. We`ve been dating for a while now, but lately things got strained. She´s actually pretty pissed at me right now." Nathan arched an eyebrow. "What did you do?"

Ric sighed. "Cancelled a date. Told her a lie and she probably saw through it." Elena wouldn`t say anything when he questioned her, but he figured that was the only reason Jenna had for being this mad at him. She wouldn`t be that pissed just because of a cancelled date. "Ouch. Why did you do that?" Nate continued his interrogation and Ric felt a little at a loss about what to say. He couldn`t really tell his brother about Isobel.

"I was off with someone else and..." he started, but his brother interrupted him. "Wait, she`s not the only one? You have another option?" Nate guessed. "Like I said, it`s complicated." Nathan rolled his eyes. "Yes, I got that. Now tell me about the other one." he ordered. Ric snorted, wondering why his brother always had to boss him around, but complied anyway.

"I don`t really know how that happened. At first we didn`t like each other. We wanted to kill each other." And if only Nate knew that this wasn`t an empty phrase. "But then we started spending time together, talking, drinking." Because let`s face it, his early friendship with Damon was built mostly on bourbon. "We found out that we had a lot in common. And then we ended up in bed together." Or rather in the backseat of his car, but his brother didn`t need to know every little detail.

Nathan looked at him for a few seconds. "I`m guessing your second option is a guy?" he said then and Ric was surprised, although he shouldn`t be. Nate was one of the few people who knew that he was bisexual. He hadn`t told his parents so far. Hadn`t really felt the need to, since he hadn`t been in a serious relationship with a guy anyway. So why provoke another fight with his dad? Nate had found out after a particularly nasty fight with an ex-boyfriend had ended in jail for Ric, back in his early college days. And in hospital for his ex.

"Don`t look so shocked. You didn`t say a name, you didn`t say she... It wasn`t hard to guess." Ric sighed. "His name is Damon. His younger brother is one of my students. Their parents are dead, so he`s taking care of his brother. That´s how we met."

"This town is smaller than I thought, when everyone you`re dating is related to someone you`re teaching." Nathan muttered and Ric couldn`t help but chuckle. "Ahh, that´s just coincidence, I think. Although Mystic Falls is pretty small." he admitted. "So, tell me more about Damon." Nathan prodded. Ric sighed and wondered where to start. He`s a vampire and he turned my wife didn`t really strike him as a good opener, so he went with the first thing that came to mind.

"He`s irritating as hell most of the time. Sarcastic, snarky and unpredictable. But he`s always there when I need him and I feel like I can really talk to him about anything. I don`t have to hide." The teacher figured he had very little secrets where Damon was concerned. The vampire was nosy and rarely took no for an answer. But it was also a relief that he didn`t have to hide anything from Damon. That he could just be himself.

"Do they know you`re seeing both of them?" Nate asked. "Damon knows about Jenna, but she thinks we`re just friends. And I don`t think you could say I`m seeing Damon anyway. It`s more of a friends with benefits kind of thing. For him at least." Ric admitted. "Do you know that or do you only guess that?" And damn Nate for his perceptiveness. "I don`t know for sure." The older Saltzman nodded and looked very pleased with himself. Ric hated that look.

"And the sex?" Nate asked bluntly. Alaric gave him a sceptical look. "I`m not discussing that with you." There were certain things his brother really didn`t need to know. But he should have remembered that Nate wasn`t likely to give up when he wanted answers. "Come on, Ric. Tell me. I don`t want details. Just a simple yes or no. Is he good?" Looking away and blushing profusely, Ric mumbled: "Mind-blowing." There really was no better word to describe sex with Damon.

He could hear his brother chuckling and dared to meet his eyes again. "That good, huh? And Jenna?" When Alaric just shrugged he guessed: "Ah, so he`s better?" The teacher really wanted to wipe the grin off his brothers face. "You can`t really compare that. It`s like.. two different worlds." And that described pretty good how he felt. Caught between two worlds. Between a human girl and a male vampire.

Because Damon was dangerous in more ways than one. The whole vampire thing aside, he was still a man. And Mystic Falls was a small town. Ric had no idea how the people would react to a gay history teacher. Parents could be quite viscous sometimes.

"So, what is the real problem here?" Nate asked finally. "Don`t you know who you should choose? Are you afraid Damon might shoot you down? Or don`t you want to choose at all?" It was a tough question. One Ric had to think about for a moment. "I know I have to choose. What I`m doing right now... it`s not fair. But I don`t know ..." he trailed off, shrugged a little helplessly. He should keep dating Jenna. If she ever forgave him. She was the safe option. And for Damon it was probably just sex anyway and he would soon get bored with Ric.

"You sure of that?" Only when he heard Nate`s question, did he realize that he had said it aloud. "You shouldn`t date Jenna, because a relationship with a girl is the safe option or because you`re afraid Damon doesn`t have feelings for you. That is unfair. To all of you." Nathan lectured and Ric had to admit that he was right. His head was spinning with all the questions his brother had asked and he almost regretted telling him anything in the first place. But deep down he knew that it was the right thing to do. Nate forced him to make a decision. Something he had postponed far too long.

The ringing of his cell phone cut through Alaric`s musings. Glad for the break he picked up. "Remember the vampire who got away last time?" Damon said by way of greeting. "Well, he`s back. He`s running rampant and he`s not alone." Ric cursed under his breath. Just what he needed right now. "Where are you?" he asked, already grabbing his jacket. "Just left the sheriff´s office."

"I`ll meet you at the boarding house in five minutes." the teacher promised, before hanging up and turning to his brother. "Sorry, I have to go. I`ll explain later." And he was out of the door before Nathan had the chance to utter a reply.


	6. Chapter 6

** Damonfan123: Thank you, glad you still like it.**

** iddy lizzie: Thank you for the compliment. So glad you like my fic.**

**Sorry, another short chapter this time. But the next one will be longer again. Promise.**

Damon was already waiting when Ric reached the boarding house. Alaric retrieved the bag with his weapons from the trunk and they got into Damon´s Camaro. "How many?" the teacher asked as Damon sped off. "At least three. Maybe more. They`re hiding out in the old farmhouse at the edge of town." The vampire told him. "How do you know?" Ric asked, not sure he really wanted an answer. "A couple of girls found the old guy who owns it not far from the house. Let´s just say the sight wasn`t pretty." Alaric swallowed hard. Poor girls. "That means they`re not even hiding." he mused. Damon nodded, looking grim. "They`re out for revenge. And they`re probably expecting us." he warned. This was just getting better and better.

They reached their destination within minutes. Alaric slung the bag over his shoulder and readied his crossbow, wishing it wouldn`t be this dark. He knew they couldn`t do this during the day. The risk of someone seeing them and drawing the wrong conclusions would be too high and they also couldn`t allow those vampires to run rampant another night. But it would be easier, seeing as they didn`t have daylight rings like Damon.

After sharing a quick glance with the vampire, Alaric moved forward. They entered the house silently and quietly moved forward, perfectly attuned to each other. It was eerily quiet. Way too quiet for the teacher`s liking. He couldn`t shake the thought that they were walking right into a trap. But they didn`t really have a choice here.

They made it to the kitchen without encountering anyone. But then all hell broke loose. A female attacked Ric out of nowhere and knocked the crossbow from his hands. He managed to avoid her sharp fingernails and hit her with a vervain dart. She went down, but already the next one was there and pushed Ric against the far wall, knocking the breath out of him with the force of the impact. Another girl came flying at him. The teacher punched her, ejecting the stakes hidden in his sleeve with the movement and effectively killing her.

Before he had a chance to react, another vampire appeared at his side, but crumbled to the ground seconds after, a stake protruding from his chest. Ric mumbled a quick thanks in Damon´s direction. Bracing himself for the next attack he heard the familiar click of his own crossbow. Seconds later Damon gasped and sank to his knees, blood bubbling out of his mouth. Ric felt like his heart had stopped for a moment.

Acting on instinct he lunged at the attacking vampire, who dropped the crossbow in surprise. Later the teacher couldn`t tell how he managed to kill him. Driven by adrenalin he picked up the discarded crossbow and killed the last one. Looking around quickly he saw no other vampires and rushed back to Damon. The teacher fell to his knees next to him, his heart clenching in worry. Luckily the stake had missed his heart. But it had punctured a lung and the vampire had trouble breathing. He was gasping for air, coughing up blood in the process.

Alaric pulled the stake out, wincing when even more blood bubbled out of Damon`s mouth, grabbed the vampire`s arm and dragged him outside. When they reached the car he let go of Damon, who sank to the ground with a pained groan and coughed up yet more blood. Alaric saw a shadow moving next to the house and slowly crept closer. The female vampire noticed him and ran. He contemplated following her, but he didn`t dare to leave Damon alone in his weakened state.

Shouldering the crossbow he returned to the dark haired vampire, who had used the hem of his shirt to wipe the blood from his mouth. He was still breathing hard, his face twisted in pain. Alaric knew he would heal quickly once he got some blood in his system. And he didn`t hesitate. Crouching down next to Damon he held out his wrist. The vampire frowned. "You need blood to heal. It`s okay." Damon held his eyes for a second and Ric nodded in encouragement. "Do it."

He watched as Damon`s face changed and seconds later the vampire sank his fangs into Ric`s wrist. The teacher winced at the pain, but didn`t pull away. It wasn`t as bad as he`d expected. He allowed Damon to take as much as he needed, which lucky for him, wasn`t all that much. When the vampire finally looked up he was breathing almost normally again.

They stared at each other for a moment. Then Damon bit his own wrist and put it to Alaric`s lips. "Only fair." he murmured when the teacher tried to protest. Hesitantly giving in Ric drank, a little surprised at the strange taste. He felt a tugging sensation at his wrist and knew it was healing.

They sat on the ground for a few more minutes. "How many did we kill?" Ric asked finally. Damon shrugged. "Not sure. Maybe five? I don`t even know how many there were in the first place." he admitted. "One ran off. A girl." Ric told him. "Yeah, we should probably take care of that. But I think it can wait until tomorrow." The teacher agreed with him and silently hoped she would just leave town and save them the hassle.

Eventually they got up and Damon took a hesitant step towards the house. "We should clean up that mess." He sounded tired. Ric grabbed his arm and stopped him. "We did enough. Let the sheriff and her deputies handle it from here." To his surprise Damon complied. Ric called Liz and told her that they had taken most of the vampires out. She asked if they were okay and once he had assured her that they would be fine she promised to take care of the rest.

The drive back to the boarding house passed in silence. Once there, Alaric followed Damon inside, not yet ready to go home. The vampire directed him upstairs and promised to follow shortly. Ric suspected he was getting himself a blood bag. Or maybe a glass of bourbon. Or, knowing Damon, probably both.

He entered the vampire`s bedroom and looked around, only now realizing he`d never been here before. His eyes swept over the large bed, the heavy curtains and the bookshelves. Damon had taste, he had to give him that.

The teacher jumped in surprise when suddenly strong arms wrapped around him from behind, hands tugging insistently at his shirt. He allowed Damon to pull the blood-stained shirt over his head and turned to capture the vampire`s lips with his own, noting vaguely that Damon had already shed his own shirt as well. The vampire returned the kiss eagerly, his hands roaming over Ric`s body, tickling and caressing. There was something almost desperate about his actions that Ric supposed had to do with him narrowly escaping death.

He practically ripped Ric`s pants off, while the teacher struggled with Damon`s impossibly tight jeans. Finally naked they tumbled onto the bed. Damon`s hands and lips were everywhere. At least it felt like that to Ric. He was getting light headed, the vampire blood in his system making him feel everything all the more intense. Damon fumbled around in the drawer of the bedside table, without breaking their heated kiss and then pushed a small vial of oil into Ric`s hand.

He protested against the drawn-out preparation, told the teacher to get on with it already, but Ric shushed him with another kiss and took his time. When he was finally buried in the vampire, both of them moving in perfect sync, neither lasted long. Utterly spent they collapsed together on the bed and waited for their breathing to return to normal.

Of course the vampire was the first to recover. Pushing up onto his elbows he reached for a nearby shirt and used it to clean himself, before handing it over to Ric, who shrugged and did the same. When he threw the shirt aside he saw that Damon had lay down again, his back to the teacher. Without thinking about it he reached out and started drawing invisible symbols on Damon`s back, marvelling at the smooth skin beneath his fingertips. The vampire sighed and remained still.

Time seemed to slow down. The silence stretched, the only sound in the room their even breathing. Ric started to wonder if he should get up and leave, when Damon suddenly turned around and snuggled against him, throwing one arm over Ric`s torso and putting his head on the man`s chest. Smiling Ric tugged the covers over both of them and put an arm around Damon as well, deciding a short nap couldn`t hurt. He could still leave in about an hour. Damon sighed contentedly. Alaric could practically feel something shift between them and knew that somehow their relationship had just changed once more.


	7. Chapter 7

Sleepily Alaric opened his eyes, blinking against the early morning sunlight that filtered through the window. Frowning he noticed that he was in an unfamiliar room. There was a cool body pressed against his, a strong arm wrapped around his waist. Slowly last night`s events came flooding back: fighting the vampires in the old farmhouse, Damon getting injured, the fear he felt at seeing the vampire cough up blood, Damon feeding from him before offering his own blood to Ric in return, driving back to the boarding house and tumbling into bed with the vampire once more.

He hadn`t meant to fall asleep. Hadn´t meant to spend the whole night in Damon`s bed. He tried to sit up, but the arm around his waist tightened and Damon made a sound of protest. Looking down, Ric marvelled at how innocent the vampire looked in his sleep. His features were completely relaxed and he was breathing evenly. The teacher let his eyes trace over the perfect face, the long, dark eyelashes a stark contrast against the pale skin, those sensuous lips, curved in a slight smile. He felt a tugging at his heartstrings that told him he was a lot further gone than he`d thought. The realization was disconcerting.

"Stop staring at me. It`s creepy." Ric couldn`t help but chuckle at the gruff words, although he felt a little embarrassed at being caught staring. However all humour vanished once he caught a glance at his watch. "Oh fuck!" he exclaimed, sitting up straight and dislodging Damon from his resting place. The vampire sat up as well, his blue eyes still half closed. "I was going to suggest breakfast first, but if you insist..." he murmured, smirking at Ric, who only rolled his eyes. "I`m late for work." the teacher explained, while he jumped out of bed and started searching for his clothes.

"Just call in sick." Ric fastened his pants and turned to look at the vampire, who was still lounging in bed, the sheet pooling in his lap, giving Ric a tantalizing view of his naked chest. "I can`t just call in sick." the teacher protested, looking around. "Have you seen my shirt?" Damon sighed and called him a spoilsport, obviously not pleased at Ric`s insistence to go to work. "I think you threw it over there somewhere, after cleaning yourself off with it last night." he finally answered in a bored tone.

Ric looked at him aghast. "Wait, that was my shirt?" The vampire only shrugged and lay back down. "Of course it was yours. Don`t know why you sound so pissed. It was ugly anyway. And stained with blood." he pointed out. Ric cursed under his breath. Just what he needed right now. Luckily he had started keeping spare shirts in the trunk of his car as well. Right next to his weapons. That was a lesson he`d learned, after a particularly nasty fight with a vampire had left his shirt in shreds and he had to drive back to his flat bare chested. His neighbour had been giving him weird looks for weeks afterwards. Now he only had to hope he wouldn`t run into Stefan on his way out.

Looking at the vampire lounging on the bed one last time and instantly regretting it, since the sight was way too tempting, he headed for the door, but hesitated with his hand on the doorknob. Damon was pouting, trying to make him change his mind. "I really have to go. I`ll meet you at the Grill after work, okay?" Ric promised. Damon heaved a sigh and averted his eyes, but mumbled a grudging: "Fine."

one had seen him leaving the boarding house half naked. Now however he wasn`t so lucky. He´d completely forgotten about Nate, until he stood in front of him, a questioning look on his face. "Ric! Everything okay?"contact. "Yeah, I`m sorry for yesterday. But I`m already late for work. We`ll talk later, okay?" He shot his brother an apologetic look and ran out without waiting for an answer.

He made it to class five minutes too late and cringed at the worried look he received from Elena. "Hey guys. Sorry I`m late. I guess my alarm clock wanted me to take the day off." he joked. Most of the students laughed, but he didn`t miss the worried glance Elena exchanged with Bonnie or the frown on Stefan`s face. He could only hope the younger Salvatore had spent last night at the Gilbert home and therefore hadn`t heard him and Damon.

Banishing that thought from mind he concentrated on teaching and made it through the first few lessons without much trouble. During free period however Elena, Bonnie and Caroline cornered him in the empty classroom and demanded to know why he`d really been late. He told them he`d been out hunting vampires with Damon and it had gotten a little rough, but it was really nothing to worry about, while he silently wondered about Stefan´s absence. Usually the vampire followed Elena like a shadow.

The three girls didn`t look convinced. "Are you really okay?" Elena asked again. Her soft brown eyes shone with worry. "Yes, I`m fine. Don`t worry about me." The girls exchanged a quick glance, before nodding in unison and he wondered, not for the first time, if they had found a way to communicate telepathically. One of them was a witch after all and knowing this town... He`d seen stranger things already. Obviously they had come to the conclusion that he was either telling the truth or would just continue lying to them, because they ended the interrogation. At least for now.

Ric was glad to see them leave. While it was nice to know they cared, their worry could also be quite stifling. And he always felt bad for worrying them. They had too many issues of their own to burden themselves with his as well. They were just teenagers after all, even if it was easy to forget that. They just seemed so mature, their experiences with the supernatural world having forced them to grow up faster. He wanted to protect them and couldn`t help but think he was doing a crappy job.

Shaking off that thought he went about teaching the last of his classes. Alaric breathed a sigh of relief when school was finally done for the day. He quickly finished up some work and then went home. Nate was on the phone with his sons, so Ric used his distraction to head into the bathroom for a much needed shower.

When he emerged about 20 minutes later, fully dressed, Nate was waiting for him. "Are you going to run out on me again?" he asked jokingly. Ric cringed. "Yeah, sorry about that. It was a little chaotic."

"I noticed. So, what was up last night. Where were you?" the older one wanted to know. "One of my students was in trouble. Stress at home." Ric told him, using the lie he had come up with earlier. He didn`t like lying to his brother, but he could hardly tell him the truth. "So, you`re a social worker now as well?" Nathan asked, shooting him a disbelieving look. Ric shrugged. "It`s a small town. People help each other." That at least wasn`t a lie.

"Okay. But you don`t actually expect me to believe you were negotiating with some parents the whole night." Of course Nate would want an explanation for him staying out all night as well. Ric wondered absently why everyone seemed so keen on interrogating him today. It was really starting to grate on his nerves. "Damon was there as well. He, or rather both of us… we help out the sheriff sometimes. Just minor things, really. Nothing big. Sometimes the kids find it easier to talk to a teacher or a guy who`s not that much older than they are, than the sheriff or one of her deputies." he shrugged, hoping his brother would believe the half-truth he was telling.

Nathan stared at him like he was trying to read his mind, to find out if he was honest. "Interesting." he said finally. "So I guess after taking care of your student you decided to spend the night with Damon?" he assumed. "I didn`t decide that. It just kinda happened." Ric confessed. Just like things with Damon mostly happened without him really intending it. Nate chuckled. "If you say so."

Alaric thought it was time to change the subject and offered to take his brother out to eat. "Good idea. You don`t really have much food here anyway." Nathan observed. "Yeah, forgot to go shopping yesterday. I know my kitchen´s a bit of a mess." They left the apartment and got into Ric`s car.

"More than a bit, I`d say. From what I saw going through your cupboards I think mum is right and you really should marry again. All I found was some microwave-food and a rather disconcerting amount of alcohol." Ric thought about telling Nathan that Damon had started storing bottles all around his apartment, but decided against it. He also bought enough of those bottles himself. "Don`t worry, I`m not an alcoholic." he assured his brother, although he wasn`t even convinced of that fact himself.

They arrived at the Grill and picked a quiet table. Both men looked up when Jeremy appeared next to them. "Hey Ric, could you talk to Mr Wilson for me? He`s being a real dick about that test I failed." the teen grumbled. Alaric knew what test Jeremy meant. The one he wasn`t able to learn for, because he was too busy helping him and the others plot Katherine`s death. "I`ll see what I can do." he promised. Jeremy thanked him and returned to playing pool with his friends.

"Your students call you Ric?" Nathan asked a little surprised. "Only some of them. Jeremy is Jenna`s nephew. I think he views me more as a friend than a teacher." Nate took a moment to process this information. "Is he one of those kids you help out of trouble?" Ric nodded. After all, it wasn`t really a lie. He did help Jeremy out of trouble sometimes. Only it was usually trouble with vampires and things like that, instead of problems at home or at school. He was glad when their food arrived and his brother was too busy eating to question him further. There were just some things about his life that Nathan didn`t need to know. Things he would never believe anyways.

Dinner was actually nice and once the plates were cleared away the brothers talked about other things. Nate compared the Grill with the diner they had frequented when they were kids and they shared childhood stories, laughing about the things they had gotten up to and wondering how much of it their parent`s might have known. Ric was so engrossed in the conversation with his brother that he completely forgot his promise to meet Damon for drinks tonight.

Therefore he was surprised to see the vampire enter the Grill and frown at the bar where Ric would usually be sitting. Nathan had obviously caught his look, because he asked if there was something wrong. Damon spied them and his frown deepened. "We`re getting company. I hope you don`t mind." Ric told his brother as he waived Damon over.

The vampire strolled up to their table, looking completely nonchalant. But Ric could see the dangerous glint in his eyes and knew he wasn`t pleased. Trying to swallow his own nervousness, the teacher patted the seat next to himself. "Damon, meet my brother Nathan. Nate, this is Damon." he introduced. For a second the two men just stared at each other and Ric held his breath, hoping his brother wouldn`t say anything stupid, hoping Damon wouldn`t do anything stupid.

Then Damon smiled and held out his hand. "Damon Salvatore. Pleasure to meet you." Nate shook the offered hand. "Likewise. I heard a lot about you." The vampire sat down next to Ric and shot him a questioning look. "Is that so?" Alaric still felt a little nervous, but it seemed like Damon had decided to behave. At least for the moment. "Don`t worry, I left the most sordid details out." the teacher assured, earning himself a grin from the vampire. "But those are the most fun." he chastised, before turning to Nate. "Ric didn`t tell me you`d be visiting." And there was only the slightest trace of accusation in his tone, but Ric heard it nonetheless.

"He didn`t know. I surprised him." Nate explained, just as Matt appeared at the table and asked if they were having the usual. Damon and Ric nodded, while Nate ordered another glass of water. Damon mouthed "boring" to Ric while the older Saltzman wasn`t looking. The teacher grinned despite himself. "So, you two come here often?" Nate asked conversationally. Damon shrugged. "It`s a small town. Not many alternatives."

Their drinks arrived and Nathan raised an eyebrow at his brother. "Oh stop looking at me like that. It´s Friday evening. I`m allowed to have one drink." Ric grumbled. Especially after the day he`d had. His brother held up his hands in surrender. "Hey, no reason to get mad. I didn`t say anything." Damon watched the exchange with interest. "My brother thinks I`m an alcoholic." Ric explained, but Nate instantly protested. "I never said that."

"But you thought it." the younger one shot back, turning to glare at Damon when the vampire chuckled. "Well, like I said there`s really not much to do around here..." he started, but cracked up laughing when Ric lightly punched his arm. "Shut up, Damon."

"No really, there`s nothing to worry about." the vampire assured, much to Ric`s surprise. "Good to hear. I just worry, you know. I`m sure you understand where I come from. From what Ric told me you have a younger brother as well." Nathan changed the topic. "Stefan. And yeah, I know how it is. Although I mostly worry about how boring Stefan is. He`s sitting at home as we speak, writing in his diary and brooding, because his girlfriend ditched him to have a girl`s night." Damon rolled his eyes and Nate blinked at him, probably wondering if he was kidding or not.

"And you take care of him?" he asked after a few seconds. The vampire nodded. "Not that hard, really. He`s quite good at taking care of himself most of the time." Ric cut in, told his brother that Stefan was a really good student and the topic changed to his work at school. He only took little sips of his bourbon, where he usually would have ordered the second one already. No need to give Nathan any more reason to worry.

To his surprise the evening was turning out quite pleasant. His brother and Damon were getting along a lot better than he`d expected. And Damon was also behaving a lot better than expected. He even followed Ric´s example and paced himself with the bourbon. The teacher didn´t really know what to make of that.

When Damon ventured to the bar after some time to get them a refill, Nate turned to his brother. "He`s not like I expected." Ric raised an eyebrow. "What did you expect?" he asked cautiously, knowing full well Damon would be listening. Damn vampire hearing. Nate shrugged. "I don`t know. Someone a little more... ordinary, I guess. He looks like a model." Ric groaned and looked towards the bar in time to catch Damon`s self-satisfied smirk. "And you didn`t think someone that hot could be attracted to someone like me." Alaric guessed, without taking his eyes off Damon, who continued to smirk at him.

"I didn`t say that. And could you stop flirting while I`m talking to you?" The teacher looked at his brother in shock. "You don`t even notice anymore, do you?" the older one asked. "It´s like your eyes are drawn to him all the time." Ric could feel the blush rising in his cheeks. He really hadn`t noticed. But he didn`t doubt that Nate was right. Damon was like a magnet, drawing him more and more.

Thankfully Damon chose that moment to return to the table. He placed a shot of bourbon in front of Nate as well, who looked at him aghast. "Oh come on, live a little." Damon mumbled as he sat down next to Ric again. Nathan heaved a dramatic sigh and took a small sip, grimacing at the taste. Damon and Ric chuckled in unison and Nate glared at them. "That doesn`t really help to convince me you`re not an alcoholic, you know." he grumbled. Ric leaned back in his seat and sipped at his own drink, by now feeling very comfortable. This evening, unplanned as it was, had turned out a lot better than expected.


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks for the lovely Reviews. The Story is slowly drawing to a Close now. I think two or three more chapters and I`ll be done.**

They ended up staying at the Grill late into the night and Ric had to admit that it was a really nice evening. On the next morning he went grocery shopping and was a little annoyed when Nathan insisted on accompanying him. "You know, I do manage quite well on my own usually. I`ve been living alone for years now. And I do know how to cook. I just don`t always have the time." he pointed out. Nate looked like he didn`t believe him. When he told him that it was also no fun to cook only for himself, his brother suggested he should invite Damon to dinner. Alaric choose to ignore that comment. Telling his brother that he wasn`t really dating Damon was pretty much pointless anyway.

"I`ve seen the way he looks at you. He`s a lot more serious about this than you allow yourself to believe." Nate insisted. Ric shrugged it off. What did his brother know anyways? He`d only met Damon yesterday and the vampire was an expert at hiding his true feelings and fooling people. Ric didn`t say that aloud though, knowing it would only fuel this discussion he didn`t want to have.

Nathan paid for the groceries, stating it was the least he could do to make up for intruding on Ric. The teacher didn´t argue. His brother had the money and half of the things had only ended up in their shopping basket because Nate insisted they would need them. Ric had no idea what they would need marshmallows and three different variations of bread for, but the older one wouldn`t be swayed.

Shopping literally took forever and Ric breathed a sigh of relief when they finally made it back to his apartment. He left it up to Nate to put most of the groceries away. After all he had insisted on buying the stuff. When Ric`s phone rang he answered it without looking at the caller ID and therefore was completely taken aback to hear Jenna`s voice. "You wanted to talk." she said quietly. "Yes, I did. I mean.. I do." Although he had no idea what he was going to say. "Can I come over?" he asked. Jenna was silent for a long moment.

"I don`t think that´s such a good idea. Elena has some friends over. Why don`t we meet at the Grill for lunch instead?" she suggested. Ric agreed, deciding not to push his luck now that she was at least talking to him again. And maybe it was best to meet in a public place. At least she couldn`t yell at him there without causing a scene. "I`ll see you in two hours then. Don`t you dare ditch me again." Jenna warned, before hanging up. Ric put the phone down and turned to his brother.

"I`m meeting Jenna for lunch in two hours." Nate raised a questioning eyebrow. "What are you going to tell her?" Ric shrugged. "I have no idea." He just hoped two hours would be enough for him to come up with something. "I know you don`t want to hear this and I really don`t want to preach, but you know you`ll have to choose eventually." Nate reminded him. And damn if Ric didn`t know that. But it was easier said than done. "I know. I`m just scared of making the wrong decision." he admitted. Nathan smiled softly. "If you want my advice - let your heart decide. Not your mind."

Two hours later Ric was sitting at a quiet table in the Grill, waiting for Jenna who seemed to be late on purpose. The teacher could feel his nervousness spike when she finally appeared. "Thank you for coming." he said with a smile. Jenna sat down across from him, a frown on her face and he realized this wasn`t going to be easy. They ordered lunch and pretty much just sat there, staring at each other.

"Did you get the flowers?" Ric dared to ask after a while, not sure how to start the conversation. She nodded. "I didn`t know what kind of flowers you liked." the teacher mumbled apologetically. "I like lavender and sunflowers." she told him. She was fidgeting and he could practically feel her anger bubbling under the surface, could swear he saw the moment she quit any pretence of calm. Her voice dropping she continued: "I love getting flowers. I think everyone does. But you know what really sucks, Ric? The fact that guys usually only send flowers when they fucked up. It would have been a really sweet gesture, if it wasn`t meant to be an apology."

He cringed, knowing she was right. He had never sent her flowers before. "I`m really sorry." Ric hoped the words conveyed his sincerity. But Jenna didn`t look convinced. "You lied to me." she accused. "There was no teacher`s conference." Ric bit his lip. "No, there wasn`t. Again, I`m sorry." Jenna crossed her arms and frowned again. Before either could say anything, their food arrived. They ate in silence, Jenna staring at the far wall and Ric sneaking glances at her every few seconds. This was going worse than he`d expected.

"What were you really doing?" Jenna asked suddenly, pushing the plate away. Ric hesitated, but then went with a half-truth again. "Remember what I told you about my wife? Isobel? About her death?" he asked. "You said it was a cold case." Jenna remembered, obviously not understanding the sudden change of topic. "Exactly. A while ago I asked sheriff Forbes to look into it for me. I didn`t have much hope. But she came up with a new lead. Or rather a half-lead, as she called it. Some guy who might have seen something. So I went to talk to him. I just had to. It turned out as a fluke. Of course it did. But I just had to try." he said, keeping to the truth as much as he could.

Jenna gave him an incredulous look. "You went to investigate the murder of your wife?" Her voice was rising and Ric flinched, noticing that they were already drawing attention to themselves. "I know I should have told you. But I didn´t want to bother you and..." He didn`t get to finish his sentence. Jenna was obviously working herself into a rage and interrupted him mid-sentence. "Bother me? Do you have any idea how that makes me feel? You`re obviously not over her, yet." she accused. "I am over her." Ric insisted, his own voice rising as well. Damn, they were giving people a show. Luckily the Grill was mostly empty today.

"No, you`re not. You abandoned your plans, our plans and went to talk to someone who might have seen something. You lied to me!" she accused. "It wasn`t like that." the teacher protested. "I just wanted…" But again Jenna interrupted him: "I don`t care what you wanted. Fact is, you haven`t let her go. You`re living in the past, Ric. You`re still holding on to your dead wife. And I won`t compete with a dead girl." She downed her drink and stood up. "You need to think about what you really want. Who you really want. Call me when you find out."

Giving him one last, sad look Jenna turned on her heel and left. Alaric could only stare after her open mouthed, knowing she was right in more ways than one. He really had to let go of Isobel. He had to give up the search. She was his past. A past that had made him the man he was, sure, but looking back would bring nothing. Of course Elena would be sad. She really wanted to meet her biological mother. But it was probably better for her if she never did. It would certainly be better for him if he never saw Isobel again.

And then there was the other thing Jenna had said. She wouldn`t compete with a dead girl. Well, she didn`t have to. She was, in fact, competing with a dead guy. Well, undead to be exact. Which didn`t change the fact that Ric had to decide who he really wanted.

"Didn`t go well, huh?" Nathan asked, when he returned to the apartment. "Not really. And you`re right. I have to make a decision." Ric admitted. His brother patted him on the back. "Come on, let`s take your mind off your relationship problems for a while. Why don`t you show me around town? Maybe it`ll help you clear your head." Alaric readily agreed and gave Nate a tour around Mystic Falls. First he showed him where he worked and then some of the interesting places he knew. Nate asked a few questions about the town and its history, smiling when Ric started an enthusiastic monologue.

"So, is this why you choose Mystic Falls? Because of its history?" he asked after a while. The younger one shrugged. "I think Mystic Falls choose me. But I like it here." They continued on their tour and Nate was surprised about the many people who greeted his brother as they passed. Ric introduced him to Carol Lockwood and Tobias Fell, who were discussing the decorations for the next event. Carol was charming as ever and Nate seemed quite impressed that his brother knew the Mayor personally. When Ric mentioned that her son was one of his students, the older one laughed and told him this town was small, no matter what Ric said.

A while later they met two of Ric`s teaching colleagues, who complimented his friendly way and his great work. "This town really loves you, huh?" Nathan joked and Ric couldn`t help but smile. He really felt at home in Mystic Falls. He stopped short however, when he spied Jenna a few feet away, obviously shopping with Elena. "Something wrong?" Nate asked, picking up on his change in demeanour. "The woman over there. That`s Jenna." Ric explained. His brother looked at her with interest. "Wow, she`s beautiful. How did you manage to attract all the beautiful people of this town?" the older one asked with a grin.

When Ric just shook his head and didn`t even answer he grabbed the teacher`s arm and dragged him towards Jenna. "Introduce us." he demanded. Rolling his eyes about his brother`s antics, Ric complied. Jenna looked surprised and not exactly pleased to see him. At least Elena gave him one of her true, friendly smiles, sweet girl that she was. "Hey, I just wanted to introduce you to my brother. Nathan Saltzman, this is Jenna Summers and her niece Elena Gilbert." Ric introduced, trying to hide his nervousness and unease with little success. They shook hands and murmured a few pleasantries, before Jenna excused them, stating she and her niece were busy. Elena smiled apologetically and followed her.

"Damn, she really is pissed at you." Nate observed. "But the niece seems like a nice girl." Ric nodded. "Yeah, Elena`s a real sweetheart." He contemplated telling his brother that Elena was in fact Isobel`s daughter, but decided against it. It would only complicate things unnecessarily. "She`s dating Damon´s brother, Stefan." he said instead, causing Nathan to laugh and remark once again how small this town was. Sobering quickly he asked if Stefan was at all like his brother. Ric motioned to a nearby bench and they sat down.

"No, they`re two completely different people, actually. Stefan isn`t nearly as infuriating as his brother. He`s quieter, more serious. I`d even say more mature, most of the time." Nate looked at his brother in surprise. "Damon said he was brooding." he remembered. "Sometimes." Ric admitted. "I guess it`s not easy for him. It`s just him and his brother and Damon isn`t exactly the guy I`d choose as guardian for a kid. Their father died a couple of years ago. I don`t know about the mother."

Both men jumped when suddenly someone spoke up from behind them. "She died when I was barely a year old." Stefan walked around the bench and introduced himself to Nate, who shook his hand with a smile. "Nathan Saltzman, I`m Ric`s older brother." Stefan nodded, taking a seat beside Ric. "Yeah, Damon told me you`re visiting." The statement surprised Ric. The Salvatore brothers didn`t really get along, although their relationship had changed for the better over the last couple of weeks and Ric was sure Damon loved his younger brother. He just didn`t like to show it.

"I`m sorry if I disclosed any family secrets." the teacher muttered, glad to be only caught by Stefan and not Damon, who might snap his neck for the indiscretion. Stefan just shrugged. "It`s not really a secret. I think most people know." At least most people knew the story the brothers had made up, Ric suspected. "It must have been hard for you, losing your mother this young." Nathan commented. Ric could only nod. He couldn`t imagine losing his mum.

"I don`t really remember her, truth be told. We had a very sweet nanny. Celina. I loved her like a mother, so it wasn`t really hard on me. It was hard on our father and especially on Damon. It crushed him. I remember that years after her death he still refused to talk about her. He would get angry when I asked about her." Stefan murmured. "Don`t let Damon know I told you that. He`d only get mad." Alaric nodded and promised not to say anything. Shortly after, Stefan bid them goodbye and left to meet Elena.

"That was informative." Nate commented, while they got into the car and returned to the apartment. Ric could only nod. He was thinking about Damon, wondering what he might have been like as a boy and what losing his mother that young had done to him. Both brothers were silent for a long while. They made dinner together and washed the dishes afterwards. Later, when it was long dark outside, they sat together on the couch, talking quietly.

Suddenly the door burst open, causing Nate to jump in shock. Ric was used to this by now, so he didn`t scare that easily. But when he looked towards the doorway a frown appeared on his face. Damon stumbled into the apartment and shut the door with a resounding bang. A half empty bottle of bourbon was dangling from his hand, but looking at the sluggish way he was moving, Ric was sure he`d ingested a lot more than that. It took a lot to get a vampire drunk and Damon was completely wasted.

He got up to meet the vampire, who sidestepped him and moved behind the couch with a lot less grace than he usually displayed. Ric had never seen him this bad off. "Thought I`d invite you for a drink." Damon slurred. "Went looking for you at the Grill, but you were busy." The words were dripping with venom and Ric realized the vampire had seen him with Jenna. Could he really be jealous? Damon lifted the bottle to his lips, but Ric was at his side in a few strides and stopped him. "You`ve had enough."

The vampire glared and him and snapped: "Stop bossing me around." but allowed Ric to take the bottle anyway. The teacher handed the bottle over to Nathan, who was watching the whole exchange with wide eyes. "But you like bossing me around, don`t you? You like it when I`m obedient." Damon accused in a low voice and Ric flinched. He cast a quick glance at his brother, noting the frown on Nate`s face. But he couldn`t worry about that right now. First he had to take care of a drunk vampire.

"I`m putting him into bed." he told Nate, who only nodded. Damon struggled half-heartedly when Ric grabbed his shoulders and maneuvered him towards the bedroom. Once the door had closed behind them the vampire went pliant in his arms. He allowed Ric to rid him of his leather jacket, shoes and jeans. When the teacher turned back to him, after depositing the clothes on a chair, Damon pulled him into a kiss and Ric couldn`t help but respond.

After a few seconds he gently pushed the vampire away. "Damon, don`t." Damon reared back like he`d been burned and stared at him with a mixture of hurt and anger. He tried to grab his clothes, but Ric stopped him. "No. Stay with me tonight. Please. No sex, just sleeping." the teacher asked. Still looking wary, Damon nodded slowly. Ric stripped down to his underwear as well and then crawled into bed.

Hesitating only a little, Damon followed suit. Ric pulled him into his arms and was surprised when the vampire cuddled closer, almost clinging to him. Maybe Nate had been right after all and Damon really had feelings for him. He kissed the vampire`s hair and started stroking his back, until Damon slowly relaxed, the tension seeping out of his body and his breathing evened out.

And there, in the semi-darkness of his bedroom, Ric suddenly realized that he had already made his decision a long time ago.


	9. Chapter 9

**Thanks for the Review. This is the second to last chapter. Hope you like it...**

When Ric awoke the next morning there was no trace of Damon. Sighing the teacher got up and joined Nathan in the kitchen. "Morning. Damon still asleep?" the older one asked. "He snuck out sometime tonight." Ric mumbled and grabbed a mug of coffee. "He snuck out? I didn`t hear him." The teacher chuckled at his brother`s dumbfounded expression. "Yeah, he`s good at that."

"But he was drunk." Nate protested. Yes, Damon had been drunk. Really drunk. But as a vampire he sobered quicker. Only Ric couldn`t tell his brother, so he just shrugged and muttered: "Maybe not as drunk as he wanted us to believe." Nathan raised his eyebrows, but didn`t comment on that. Instead he turned back to the stove and continued flipping pancakes.

"He seemed pretty upset last night." he noticed after a while. "I think he saw me talking to Jenna." Ric told him. The older one nodded and served breakfast. "He was jealous." Nate spoke up again. When Ric only shrugged he heaved a dramatic sigh. "Oh come on, Ric. Stop pretending this isn`t serious. He`d gotten completely wasted, because he saw you with Jenna. I may not know him as well as you do, but even I could see that he was really upset. He wouldn`t have reacted like that if this was really just a friends with benefits kind of thing for him."

Ric had to admit that his brother was right. He`d never seen Damon this drunk. So maybe the vampire really had feelings for him. But how serious could he be? Wouldn`t he still grow tired of Ric soon? And what then? What if he really started a relationship with the vampire, only to have Damon leave him in a few weeks? The teacher had admitted last night, at least to himself, that his feelings for Damon ran a lot deeper than mere friendship. But he didn`t know if he was ready to admit that aloud yet, let alone do something about it.

Unfortunately Nate wouldn`t leave him alone. "What`s the problem? He obviously likes you. You like him. Why not give it a chance?" he reasoned. And it sounded so easy. But it was anything but easy. "You don`t know him, Nate. He´s fickle. He hated me not so long ago. What if… what if I really chose him and he leaves me in a few weeks? This is a small town. I have no idea how people would react to a male teacher dating a guy." he voiced one of his fears. The older one shook his head. "That`s a risk you have to take. If it`s real, you`ll take that risk. This isn`t about what other people think. It`s about what you feel. What you really want."

And damn, when did his brother get so wise? Because he was right. He couldn`t let the fear of what other people might think dominate his life. He shouldn`t keep dating Jenna (if she ever forgave him), just because she was the safe option. He had always followed his heart, fuck the consequences. Why should he change that now? "You`re right." the teacher murmured finally. "Of course I am." Nate replied with a grin, causing his brother to chuckle. "And now off with you. There´s someone you need to talk to."

Laughing Ric complied. After he was showered and dressed he told his brother to meet him at the Grill for lunch and then drove to the boarding house. His heart was pounding when he walked up to the front door. He knocked and waited, getting more nervous by the second. After what felt like hours Stefan opened the door. He told the teacher Damon wasn`t home and he had no idea when his brother would be back. Ric couldn`t tell if Stefan was telling the truth or if Damon was hiding somewhere in the house and just didn`t want to see him. "Tell him I need to talk to him. It`s important." Stefan promised to tell Damon.

So Ric had no choice but to leave. He stopped at the sheriff`s office and asked Liz if she had seen the vampire, but she shook her head. They had a short talk about the latest vampire attacks, before Ric took his leave. Since he had no idea where Damon might be hiding he went to the Grill to wait for his brother. Maybe Damon would show up there. He ordered his usual bourbon and waited, but Damon didn`t come.

When Nathan arrived he looked at the glass with a frown, but didn`t comment on it. He also didn`t ask and Ric was glad that his brother still understood him well enough to know when to keep quiet. They ordered lunch and talked about other things. Ric kept looking at the door, but still Damon didn`t show up. When he tried calling the dark haired vampire he only reached the mailbox. Great, Damon was pissed. They returned to Ric`s apartment, but Nathan didn`t allow his brother to sit around and mope.

Instead he dragged him off to catch a movie and then into a toy store, where he bought some souvenirs for his sons. Ric tried to call Damon a few more times, left countless messages on his mailbox, but the vampire didn`t pick up and also didn`t call back. Nate made dinner, ignoring Ric`s protest that he wasn`t hungry. After washing the dishes the teacher wrote his lesson plans for the next day and then went to bed early.

Monday came and went and still Ric didn`t hear a word from Damon. He`d stopped counting the times he had called the vampire or the messages he had left on his mailbox. Stopping by at the boarding house only proved that Damon was good at hiding. Stefan insisted he hadn`t seen his brother either and the teacher couldn`t tell if he was lying. He only hoped Damon wouldn`t do anything stupid. Sitting at the Grill with his brother later that evening he was relieved to see the dark haired vampire stroll up to the bar calmly.

That is, until he spotted the blonde girl attached to Damon´s side. She was giggling at something the vampire had said and Ric clenched his fists so hard his knuckles were turning white. "Someone`s trying to make you jealous." Nathan commented. Ric only gave him a dark look, before turning his attention back to the vampire and the blonde slut that had her hands all over him. "Go talk to him." Nate insisted. "He`s busy." Ric growled, watching as Damon started kissing the girl`s neck while his hands played with the hem of her skimpy tanktop.

Snorting in disgust Nate thumped him on the head. "Stop being an idiot. Go talk to him." he instructed again. The teacher hesitated a second, but one look from his brother finally made him get up. He slowly made his way over. Damon pretended not to notice him, although Ric was sure the vampire had heard him approaching. "Damon, can I talk to you for a second?" he asked quietly.

The vampire made a show of pulling the girl even closer. "Sorry Ric, but I`m busy." His words were dripping with venom. "Just a second. Please." Ric ground out, barely resisisting the urge to prie the blonde away from Damon and put a stake through her heart, just for the fun of it. He`d always been a jealous guy. He just couldn`t help it. "Actually, Mandy and I were just about to head home to have some fun, if you get my drift." Damon let him know. "Let`s go, sweetheart." The blonde giggled and walked towards the door.

Ric grabbed Damon´s arm to stop him, surprised when the vampire whirled around and pushed him against the bar. "Quit it, Ric. I`m not dating you, remember?" he spat. The teacher could only watch as he left with the blonde slut, his shoulders slumping in defeat. He looked up when Nate appeared beside him and held up his hand to stop his brother from sprouting any more stupid advice. "Don`t. Whatever you`re going to say. Don`t." he grumbled. "Let`s just head home." Nate heaved a sigh and complied.

Tuesday`s lessons took forever. After laying awake most of the night, staring at the ceiling and trying desperately NOT to imagine what Damon and the blonde were doing right now, Ric had awoken grumpy and lonely. He`d barely spoken to his brother during breakfast and left for work without so much as a goodbye. Of course he knew that it wasn`t Nate´s fault. But he just couldn´t help it.

Things didn`t get better once he was at school. He had to realize that he`d left most of his notes at home and therefore had to improvise his lessons. The students weren`t pleased about the impromptu test he came up with, since he couldn`t concentrate for shit today. Stefan was watching him with a weird, calculating look the teacher didn`t like at all and the girls seemed worried again. He spent his free period hiding from them, not in the mood for another game of 20 questions and left quickly once school was over.

Back home Nate tried to cheer him up and take his mind off things by suggesting a little trip. Since everything was better than sitting at home, Ric agreed and they drove around aimlessly for hours, talking about their parents, Nate`s wife and their childhood. It was way past midnight when they finally returned to Ric`s apartment, but still he couldn`t sleep.

Wednesday was even worse. After yet another sleepless night Ric contemplated calling in sick, but in the end dragged himself to school anyway. It was better than sitting at home, he reasoned, although he wasn`t so sure once he arrived at work. He had no idea how he made it through the school day. Or what he taught his students for that matter. If he even taught them anything at all.

When Elena approached him after class he told her he was fine and to just leave him alone. Her hurt expression made him feel awful. He knew she was just trying to help, but he just couldn`t deal with her concern right now. He also didn`t want to deal with his brother, so he called and told him he had to catch up on some work and he`d be home late. If Nate saw through the lie he didn`t say anything.

Ric started grading papers, but soon gave up since he couldn`t concentrate. In the end he just sat in his office, staring off into space, glad that he`d stored a bottle of bourbon there a while ago. When he finally stumbled out of the building, more than just a little drunk, it had long since gotten dark.

The teacher didn`t really pay attention to his surroundings and therefore didn`t notice the dark figure hiding in the shadows. The attack took him completely by surprise. One second he was walking towards where he supposed he had parked his car, the next he was laying face down on the ground. He tried to get up, but the attacker was faster. Ric managed to get to his hands and knees, only to be pushed back down again. Strong hands gripped his arms, sharp fingernails digging into his skin.

He heard a low growl as his attacker leaned over him and then there was a sharp pain in his neck and he finally realized just how dangerous the situation was. Sobering a little he started struggling in earnest and managed to dislodge the vampire, wincing when he felt the skin on his neck tear even further. Ric rolled to his feet and grabbed for the vervain darts he kept stashed in his jacket pocket, but he was too slow. A push to the chest sent him tumbling down again.

Looking up he saw his attacker for the first time. A female with dark hair. The one from the old farmhouse, that had gotten away a few days ago, he suspected. He didn`t have time to ponder the thought. She lunged at him again and he barely avoided her sharp fingernails, that were aiming straight for his eyes. Wincing when she scratched across his jaw, he scrambled backwards and managed to land a blow to her head and a kick to her ribs.

But she was strong. And obviously determined to kill him. The bite-wound on his neck was throbbing, still oozing blood. It weakened him and the alcohol in his system wasn`t helping either. Finally getting hold of a vervain dart he aimed for her chest, but she sped out the way. Ric managed to get up and grab another vervain dart, but she was beside him in seconds and gave him a shove that sent him sprawling against a tree. He hit his head on the rough bark and his vision swam.

Ric sank to his knees, barely able to stay conscious and could only watch as she stalked closer. He knew he had to fight, had to do something. But he felt too weak to even get up again. He had no more vervain darts on him and his other weapons were in the trunk of his car. Way out of his reach. Well, at least he had his ring, so his death wouldn`t be permanent. His last concscious thought was that he wished Damon would be here. Then everything went black.


End file.
